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Wales-Armenia Solidarity Press Release
Tel: 07876561398
[email protected]
c/o The Temple of Peace, Cathays Park, Cardiff
Genocide Monument unveiling-Turkish Nazis and Genocide deniers
expected to prote st
Several hundred Armenians from across the UK will gather at the
Temple of Pe ace, Cardiff at 1.00 p.m. this saturday(3rd november) for
the unveiling of the first public monument to the Armenian Genocide in
the UK. Permision has been gra nted by the United Nations Association
Wales and the monument will stand on land owned by the National
Assembly of Wales. The monument will be unveiled by the P residing
Officer of the National assembly, Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas and the
Armen ian Ambassador, Dr Vahe Gabrielyan.
Welsh and Armenian choirs will take part as well as Armenian
dancers. Canon Patrick Thomas will speak on "Armenia and Wales" and
Mike Joseph will speak on A neurin Williams MP, the Welsh lobbyist for
Armenia in parliament during the time of the genocide . Prayers will
be said in welsh, Armenian and Aramean. The Monument is a "thank you"
to the people of Wales for the Recognition of the Armenian Genocide by
the political cultural and religious representatives of the nation.
It will be seen as an embarassment by the government as well as
the Conserva tive Party who have both consistently colluded with the
Turkish denial of their past crimes against the Armenians. Last week,
the minister for Europe promised t o look afresh at the issue.
Also 187 MPs signed an Early Day Motion recognising the truth of the
Genocide. (Of these 187 Only George Galloway MP caved in to Turkish
pressure and withdrew his name)
We are informed by the police that several hundred Turkish Nazi
Genocide den iers will protest near the monument. Amazingly only a
handful of police officers have been promised for the protection of
the audeance, who will be armed with h ymns and prayers only.
Contact: Eilian Williams 07876561398
We are pleased at this unambiguous speech by Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas
to be delivered in Welsh on saturday (translation)
Speech by the Presiding Officer of the National Assembly of Wales to
be given at the unveiling of the Welsh National Monument to the
Armenian Genocide (3 november 2007)translation into English
It is a great honour to be here today at the invitation of
"Wales-Armenia Solidarity" to receive this stone cross-the
khatchkar-on behalf of the people of Wales,and to see the cross being
consecrated in memoery of the Armenians who were killed during one of
the worst Genocides ever seen in the world,the genocide of a million
and a half of the people of Armenia by the Turkish State in 1915
It is a great pleasure also to welcome to Wales the Ambassador of
Armenia in the UK, Dr Vahe Gabrielyan, as well as Bishop Nathan
Hovhannissian, the Primate of the Armenian Apostolic Church in the UK.
It is a reflection of the consuming interest in Wales in the history
of Armenia that the finance for this beautiful monument was raised
wholy by Welsh Armenians. It is a symbol of the special sympathy of
the people of Wales for the people of Armenia that here, in the
building raised in order to promote peace throughout the world after
the horrors of the First World War,that the cross is placed
This building is a symbol of the wish and the ambition of Wales to
have a voice in international affairs and I am pleased to say that
Wales has recognised the right of Armenia to her freedom and has
called on the rest of the world to recognise the suffering of her
people.
It is not just a matter of sentiment that Wales identifies with a
small country with an unique language, a religious character which
derives from the world's oldest Christian Church;and experience of
living next to a rabid and imperialistic neighbour.
The relationship of Wales with one of the world's oldest countries and
the world's oldest Christian Church back to the end of the nineteenth
century and the massacre of the people of Armenia in 1894 in Sasoon.
Llewelyn Williams the Liberal MP from Wales wrote a book "Armenia Past
and Present" on the shame of the massacre.
Protest meetings were held, poems were written, and money was
collected to ease the suffering, and a "Wales-Armenia Society" was
formed.
When the terrible Genocide happened, of course, mwe were in the middle
of the Grat War, and to our shame,not the same attention was paid to
the sufferings of Armenia in 1915 as was the case in 1894-96
In the wake of Turkey's victory over the allies in Galipoli in 1915,
the Turkish state began the work of trying to exterminate the whole
Armenian population of the country. On the 24th april, the
intellectuals were arrested and murdered and the wider Armenian
population then suffered the same fate?
As Robert Fisk noted in his powerful book,"The Great War for
Civilization" this was the first ever genocide and it is signifigant
that it was the silence of the rest of the world in the face of such a
tragedy that led the Nazis to consider the Genocide of the Jews.Hitler
was quoted in August 1939-when ordering his generals to attack
Poland-who today remembers the destruction of the Armenians?
I am glad that people are not turning their back on Armenia today as
they did a century ago.
The National Assembly has given true support to the campaign to
recognise the reality of the Genocide
In October 2002, the majority of National Assembly Members supported a
motion by Rhodri Glyn Thomas A.M.(the present Transport minister) to
this effect
- Recognising the truth of the Genocide that ocurred under the
government of Turkey in 1915
- Calling on Turkey to end her economic blockade on Armenia
- Call on The UK Parliament not to support Turkey's application for EU
membership until she recognises the Genocide of 1915 as well as ending
her economic blockade of Armenia.
The majority of Welsh MPs have also signed similar motions in the
House of Commons in 2006 and 2007.
In 2001, the First Minister of Wales laid a wreath of flowers to
remember the victims of the Genocide and in the National Holocaust Day
ceremony this year in Cardiff, The Armenians were remembered as well
as the Jews and the Darfuris.
So this ocassion is not only a way of remembering the million and a
half that lost their lives in the Genocide, but also an opportunity
for us to redress in a small way because the rest of the world failed
to intervene.
Tel: 07876561398
[email protected]
c/o The Temple of Peace, Cathays Park, Cardiff
Genocide Monument unveiling-Turkish Nazis and Genocide deniers
expected to prote st
Several hundred Armenians from across the UK will gather at the
Temple of Pe ace, Cardiff at 1.00 p.m. this saturday(3rd november) for
the unveiling of the first public monument to the Armenian Genocide in
the UK. Permision has been gra nted by the United Nations Association
Wales and the monument will stand on land owned by the National
Assembly of Wales. The monument will be unveiled by the P residing
Officer of the National assembly, Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas and the
Armen ian Ambassador, Dr Vahe Gabrielyan.
Welsh and Armenian choirs will take part as well as Armenian
dancers. Canon Patrick Thomas will speak on "Armenia and Wales" and
Mike Joseph will speak on A neurin Williams MP, the Welsh lobbyist for
Armenia in parliament during the time of the genocide . Prayers will
be said in welsh, Armenian and Aramean. The Monument is a "thank you"
to the people of Wales for the Recognition of the Armenian Genocide by
the political cultural and religious representatives of the nation.
It will be seen as an embarassment by the government as well as
the Conserva tive Party who have both consistently colluded with the
Turkish denial of their past crimes against the Armenians. Last week,
the minister for Europe promised t o look afresh at the issue.
Also 187 MPs signed an Early Day Motion recognising the truth of the
Genocide. (Of these 187 Only George Galloway MP caved in to Turkish
pressure and withdrew his name)
We are informed by the police that several hundred Turkish Nazi
Genocide den iers will protest near the monument. Amazingly only a
handful of police officers have been promised for the protection of
the audeance, who will be armed with h ymns and prayers only.
Contact: Eilian Williams 07876561398
We are pleased at this unambiguous speech by Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas
to be delivered in Welsh on saturday (translation)
Speech by the Presiding Officer of the National Assembly of Wales to
be given at the unveiling of the Welsh National Monument to the
Armenian Genocide (3 november 2007)translation into English
It is a great honour to be here today at the invitation of
"Wales-Armenia Solidarity" to receive this stone cross-the
khatchkar-on behalf of the people of Wales,and to see the cross being
consecrated in memoery of the Armenians who were killed during one of
the worst Genocides ever seen in the world,the genocide of a million
and a half of the people of Armenia by the Turkish State in 1915
It is a great pleasure also to welcome to Wales the Ambassador of
Armenia in the UK, Dr Vahe Gabrielyan, as well as Bishop Nathan
Hovhannissian, the Primate of the Armenian Apostolic Church in the UK.
It is a reflection of the consuming interest in Wales in the history
of Armenia that the finance for this beautiful monument was raised
wholy by Welsh Armenians. It is a symbol of the special sympathy of
the people of Wales for the people of Armenia that here, in the
building raised in order to promote peace throughout the world after
the horrors of the First World War,that the cross is placed
This building is a symbol of the wish and the ambition of Wales to
have a voice in international affairs and I am pleased to say that
Wales has recognised the right of Armenia to her freedom and has
called on the rest of the world to recognise the suffering of her
people.
It is not just a matter of sentiment that Wales identifies with a
small country with an unique language, a religious character which
derives from the world's oldest Christian Church;and experience of
living next to a rabid and imperialistic neighbour.
The relationship of Wales with one of the world's oldest countries and
the world's oldest Christian Church back to the end of the nineteenth
century and the massacre of the people of Armenia in 1894 in Sasoon.
Llewelyn Williams the Liberal MP from Wales wrote a book "Armenia Past
and Present" on the shame of the massacre.
Protest meetings were held, poems were written, and money was
collected to ease the suffering, and a "Wales-Armenia Society" was
formed.
When the terrible Genocide happened, of course, mwe were in the middle
of the Grat War, and to our shame,not the same attention was paid to
the sufferings of Armenia in 1915 as was the case in 1894-96
In the wake of Turkey's victory over the allies in Galipoli in 1915,
the Turkish state began the work of trying to exterminate the whole
Armenian population of the country. On the 24th april, the
intellectuals were arrested and murdered and the wider Armenian
population then suffered the same fate?
As Robert Fisk noted in his powerful book,"The Great War for
Civilization" this was the first ever genocide and it is signifigant
that it was the silence of the rest of the world in the face of such a
tragedy that led the Nazis to consider the Genocide of the Jews.Hitler
was quoted in August 1939-when ordering his generals to attack
Poland-who today remembers the destruction of the Armenians?
I am glad that people are not turning their back on Armenia today as
they did a century ago.
The National Assembly has given true support to the campaign to
recognise the reality of the Genocide
In October 2002, the majority of National Assembly Members supported a
motion by Rhodri Glyn Thomas A.M.(the present Transport minister) to
this effect
- Recognising the truth of the Genocide that ocurred under the
government of Turkey in 1915
- Calling on Turkey to end her economic blockade on Armenia
- Call on The UK Parliament not to support Turkey's application for EU
membership until she recognises the Genocide of 1915 as well as ending
her economic blockade of Armenia.
The majority of Welsh MPs have also signed similar motions in the
House of Commons in 2006 and 2007.
In 2001, the First Minister of Wales laid a wreath of flowers to
remember the victims of the Genocide and in the National Holocaust Day
ceremony this year in Cardiff, The Armenians were remembered as well
as the Jews and the Darfuris.
So this ocassion is not only a way of remembering the million and a
half that lost their lives in the Genocide, but also an opportunity
for us to redress in a small way because the rest of the world failed
to intervene.